Mobile Seaweed Processing

Commercial kelp farmers in Southcentral Alaska face logistical obstacles for harvesting, stabilizing, and transporting large volumes of kelp biomass from aquatic farms to population centers; the primary objective of this project is to develop a mobile seaweed processor to optimize the harvest and stabilization of organic commercial kelp biomass to assist commercial kelp farmers in southcentral Alaska to meet scaled up market demand and kelp production for the 2024-2025 growing season. Mothers of Millions LLC (MOM) is a woman-owned and operated small business established to provide support to new and emerging seaweed farmers in rural, coastal communities in Southcentral Alaska.

MOM seeks to address the current market gap in seaweed processors operating within Alaska, and provide a market for commercial seaweed farmers through the development of a mobile processing facility. Such a mobile facility supports rural Alaskan communities through reducing transportation costs for farmers with remote seaweed farms.

This proposed project will develop an organic, mobile seaweed processor that: (1) works with Native Conservancy to establish a network of farms throughout Prince William Sound to ensure each participating farmer receives organic certification; (2) develops an optimized, mobile harvesting solution to provide farmers with on-water support for harvesting, stabilizing, and transporting large volumes of kelp biomass; (3) provides an anchor customer for commercial kelp farmers in Southcentral Alaska; (4) tests various stabilization and processing methods to match harvesting efforts with processors’ end uses of kelp product; and (5) works with Native Conservancy to leverage traditional processing experience in the development of new and innovative methodologies for processing kelp.

Learn more here.